Mo Williams, meet Troy Daniels

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Hours before Game 5, Portland guard Mo Williams was still talking about an exchange he had with a certain Rockets’ player.

“Let’s see if the rook’s ready, whatever his name is,” Williams said.

The ‘rook’ was guard Troy Daniels, who exchanged words with Williams after Game 4 in Portland although neither player is sharing any details about what was said or why.

Williams’ gamesmanship aside, Daniels has been making a name for himself in these playoffs.

And with every game, every big shot – he has hit 7-of-11 3-pointers in Games 3 and 4 of the series – more people are learning who he is.

It was a bit tougher in Game 5 for Daniels, who scored five points in 17 minutes but didn’t back down.

“It was a lot different (tonight). Guys were out there playing hard, battling for loose balls, being physical.”

And when asked after the game if Mo Williams knows his name: “He definitely knows it.”

After going undrafted out of Virginia Commonwealth University, Daniels was cut by the Bobcats and the Rockets in the preseason and spent most of the season in the D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He eventually signed with the Rockets in February. He would hop back and forth between the Rockets and the Vipers for the rest of the season.

In the past couple of months, and particularly in the last few weeks, Daniels said he thinks has has proved that he belongs in the NBA.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” Daniels said. “I think I have done everything I can to prove I deserve to be here. And I will keep trying to prove that as long as I can have a spot in this league.”

While Daniels wasn’t one of the most talked-about prospects for the Rockets this season, he was a player they have had their eye on for some time.

“He was definitely on the radar,” said Gersson Rosas of the Rockets basketball operations staff. “He improved throughout his career. The problem is everybody saw him as just a specialist. They didn’t think he had a position because of his build and his body. They thought he was too small (at 6-4) to be a two, not enough handle to be a one. He was a specialist in college and I think that helped him transition to the D-League and now the NBA. He’s doing what he’s always done. He’s just doing it on a bigger stage. He hasn’t changed.”

While Daniels’ shooting is what has earned him recognition, his toughness and work ethic is what his coaches notice most.

“He is out there diving for balls, trying to keep his man in front of him and just playing hard,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “I like him a lot.”

Now Daniels just hopes he has made the most of his recent chances on the court. Every time he is put in a game, he said, he goes into complete attack mode and gives everything he has.

That style of play, Daniels hopes, will earn him a permanent place in the league.

“A lot of people around me have doubted me and haven’t believed in me, but I kept working and now I am trying to take advantage of every minute I have on the court to show that I belong here,” Daniels said. “And if I am here next year, I know I will have to be even better. I always want to get better. That’s just who I am.”